Staycation

Months ago I was talking with Angela about the hotel my cousin Travis stayed at in Frisco last summer. With a quick google search and a great AAA discount the room was booked for our staycation 2010 (last year we spent a night at the Gaylord). With it being so close how could I not invite the boys to join us by the pool?

Day one started out a little "cloudy". When we arrived and checked in to our fantastic room with a balcony (over the parking lot-but still one of the few with the option to sweat overlooking the cars) we headed straight out to the pool. Apparently everyone else decided to take a Memorial Day Staycation to the Westin Stonebriar too because there was not a single chair. We had to stand there like hawks til we finally got regular sit up chairs from the restaurant to sit in. People would jump in a claim chairs as people were leaving but you literally had to hover or you missed out. We scored one chair and no worries...after an hour we were able to get two chairs next to each other. It was very frustrating but once we were parked in the lounge chairs the rest of the day was enjoyable. Jack and Nick joined us after nap time. We swam til around 6, headed up to the room to change, and then went to Fireside Pies for dinner.

Jack loved the hotel. I think later this summer we might try to get another good rate and I guess I'll let the boys join me in the heavenly beds (and I want to try out that heavenly shower) because other than the unusual crowds, the pool was very kid friendly.

After dinner the boys dropped us off, we rented a movie, and ordered room service. When I woke up my back was killing me so I thought that the heavenly bed had done me in. Turns out that when I went to the bathroom FOREVER I realized that for the first night since I found out I was pregnant I slept through the whole night without my three or more trips to the bathroom...now that is HEAVENLY!

Angela and I woke up early with the plan to get to the pool and claim our seats. I went down to the Cafe to get a muffin and everyone I saw was already in suits. Racing upstairs we threw on our suits, gathered our things, I hit the wrong button on the elevator (which after the next part you'll know why this could have been a bad thing...one more button and we would have been back on the grassy knoll without a chair), raced out, and got two of the last 4 chairs. A few minutes later we were able to claim one more close by which we moved for the boys. The umbrella was broken but hey, we had 3 chairs and were much better off than those poor soles that slept in or just checked in.
At the top of the slide (a favorite of Jack's).
Angela at the bottom of the slide. Turns out that Mommy was too short to catch Jack at the end of the slide. He came down that first time and was bobbing...some man saw the fear in my eyes as I was struggling to stay up myself, grabbed hold of Jack, and passed him to me....from that point on it either had to be me at the top with them at the bottom, Nick would slide down and Jack would follow, or by the end he could go up the rocks by himself and Angela and Nick would wait for him at the bottom. And if you think him bobbing was scary ask me later about his head getting stuck in the steps of the ladder...which meant he was under water and struggling...TERRIBLE I tell you...but we are both alright now. :)

Waiting for lunch with a Gatorade and trying to shield ourselves from the sun. Jack was such a staycation trooper the whole time.

After lunch Jack and Nick did a little putting on the putting green by the pool.

Our little Phil Mickelson (had to ask Nick for a name...didn't feel right using Tigers name).

So glad Daddy played around with Jack because it helped him win the adult putting contest. Jack was so cute cheering him on from the steps of the pool. Nick won a lunch for two at Eddie's bar at the hotel...guess we'll have book another staycation in order for the free lunch not to go to waste.

Giving my little fish a ride to the other end of the pool. He loved his vest (Mrs. Paige requested no arm floaties to not back track his learning from swim lessons and this was great...you take out sleeves from inside the front and back of the vest so that it can adjust as fit for his swimming ability-this allowed him to lean forward and use his legs and arms...pretty soon we'll take out all the front so the back floaters are mainly there as a precaution and a little support). His Max Liquidator water squirters from Target were another winner!

Going.

Going (even with the music that close and LOUD).

Gone.

A little afternoon refresher after a SHORT nap and then we headed home. What a great staycation...sure wish we didn't have 3 more days of school....this taste of summer was such a tease but has me so excited about the fun the Relle Clan will have this summer.

Here is a video I took of little fish going down the water slide. Listen closely and you can hear his squeals on the way down. He LOVED the slide!

May Montage

Since June is already among us I have decided to do a May Montage to finish up the Relle Clan's May with every intention to keep up with the times this summer since work will be behind me until August. :)

We flew into Baton Rouge to surprise Uncle Eric and Aunt Brittany for their wedding reception. Saturday before the party the Antie-Nolan side of the family WERE to get together to hang for lunch...here is a picture right before Gabbriella fell head first into the fire place and spent the rest of the day at the emergency room. Jack enjoyed spending time with this grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins...but was very worried about Gab's head.
The Relle Clan all dressed up for the reception.

Our handsome little man!

I took off of work on May 5th for Muffins with Mom and a doctor's appointment with the perinatal doctor (Dr. Gore). If you all remember last year's Muffins with Mom that I missed which resulted in...can't think about it. Nick was so kind to drop off the Mother's Day projects I worked on for Jack's Teacher the night before (that is right...I worked on the gifts for myself). On the way some girl hit the Jetta. It was entirely her fault but she lied on her statement to her insurance. They would only cover her portion. We had to file with our company who is suing her company and in the meantime we had to pay up the $500 deductible and our premium is going up.

The damage wasn't terrible and everyone was alright...but boy was the deductible tough, the premium increase hurts over the long run, and having one car was a PAIN. Hopefully things will be worked out between the two companies and also that the girl gets some bad ass karma.

Ironically our insurance company had printed and mailed a good client check to us before the accident. We ran to deposit the $50 before they stopped payment on the check. Hehe!

The Jetta is finally back and although it wreaks of paint and I'm a bit bothered by the color/shine differences between the two side...we are back to having two cars.

After Nick called about the wreck I was a bit worked up...but then even more so when the toilet in our bathroom started to overflow. I couldn't find a plunger, Jack was trying to help with his horn in the toilet, found the plunger and it wouldn't work, then finally while adding tear drops into the bowl was able to stop the water. We had about 5 minutes to leave for Muffins for Mom and so I called Nick in a panic. This was the first time Jack had seen me cry (that he remembers because with nursing and my having to return to work the when he was 5 months old...there were for sure some tears) and was quite concerned. He kept asking what was wrong...I told him I was sad about the toilet (not mentioning Nick's wreck because he would have been really concerned)...he gave me a huge hug and brought me my bear.

In Jack's efforts to help with the water he ran to his bathroom to grab a towel. The rod broke because why not...and we were able to do a little cleaning up before racing out the house for Watters Muffins for Moms program. Nick left work and drove the wrecked Jetta to try to fix the flood but it required more time and tools later...luckily not by a plumber because another bill would have made me flood the house with my tears.

We arrived and I did my best to suck up my stress from the mornings disasters (you know before 9 AM) and enjoy the celebration with my little man.

My heart times 2!

Muffins and juice (& potato chips...random I know).

Jack and I worked on an art project together.

LOVE!

After the art project the music teacher came in for a little circle time singing. Then Jack presented the hand print poem that he made for me.

On the 11th The Relle Clan took a road trip to Presby Dallas to meet Miss Charlotte Rose Parnell. It was so cute...while we were there Jack turned to tell on Charlotte for doing something to him. Ashley and I inquired more since well...she was 2 days old and in her Mom's arms...and Jack responded by saying she did this (insert a baby tongue moving face here)....we had to explain she wasn't making faces at him, but that she was making baby faces....boy, bet this isn't the last time we'll hear of Jack complaining about a new baby giving him a hard time. She was so precious, Ashley looked great, and at the first kiss from Jack there were no tears...this picture on my phone just came out better. Congrats Parnells...she is perfect!

Watters Montessori had another great program arranged by the schools WPA (Watters Parents Associated) in which I am a founding member. It was a family zoo day. Everyone bought tickets prior to the weekend and met up in the flamingo room at 11:00 for a catered lunch.

After lunch there was an animal presentation. Here Jack is petting an armadillo.

And a baby gator...there were also chinchillas and snakes. The kids and adults enjoyed seeing and learning about the animals. I think getting my face painted was the highlight of my day...Nick and I did it to encourage Jack...but he still wasn't interested.

To cool off after checking out some of the animals the boys waded in the water inside the play area at the kids' area.

From the zoo we headed up North a little to Jeremy's house for a crawfish boil (face painting and all). This was Jack's first crawfish boil and the first time he's been around the South of George Bush (no longer just 635) crew and he had SO MUCH FUN!

It was delicious. Check out little man Jack with Tedo and Bently in the background while snacking on his Lunchable. Can't wait for the next gathering at Jeremy's new house!

Jack had his 2nd falling out of the bed injury and to prevent a 3rd we hooked him up with a rail. Too bad he still prefers to sleep on the floor or in our bed...but on those few nights he stays in his own room..we know he is safe (or hope the percentages at least increase for his safety)

The night that we picked up the Jetta we had a lovely family dinner (not at home of course...that would require planning, early nights to sleep, and not entirely too long work hours) at the new Chick Fil A in Fairview. The dinner was great....FREE. Everything including our meals and dessert compliments of Mommy being a stellar coupon hoarder and a few leftover gift cards with pennies on each. So it being new and Jack being a big boy that has been deprived the chance to play on fast food play equipment thus far...we gave in. I'm a bit nervous though because he now knows he is not too young and there is no turning back.

For the record....it was the 26th-Can't they clean the play area nightly? Gross! But I'm going to let it go so that the next Super Bug doesn't have Relle in the name. :)

A problem?!?! Yes indeed!

The End!

Baby Relle #2

If I had nickel for every time I swore that Baby Relle #2 would not be the typical "second child" and that all things would be created equal, if not better...I'd be rich. But, unfortunately I'm not rich and this poor baby thus far has not been nearly as documented as Sir Jack was. And for that I am sorry and vow now, again, to be a better mommy....but know that our LOVE and excitement is solid in the absence of blog updates, belly pictures, and planning.

Here is our little being at 7 weeks. The picture wasn't much to show but that strong heartbeat was music to Nick and I's ears.
13 weeks...nope not 20 like you would expect from the picture...just plain old 13 weeks. Believe it or not I was larger previous to this belly picture.....guess luckily it was like a room having to get messy before it gets clean.
Jack is so cute...he loves to have his belly shots taken (you know the 3 times we have taken them) and is always giving hugs, kisses, and is so serious when it comes to anything to do with the baby. He is going to be such a GREAT BIG BROTHER!
Here is our little bambino at 13 weeks with Dr. Gore. Everything looked great! The baby was flipping around and the heartbeat was 168. He requested to see me back in 7 weeks to do a fetal eckogram to check out our little ones ticker. Amazing how much they grow in just 6 weeks.
14 weeks...no concern for baby growing clearly. Around this point I started feeling my little bit moving around in my belly...can't wait for full kids and belly flips!
16 weeks
We had our 4 week appointment with Dr. Campbell today. The heartbeat was a strong 148. We'll go back in a little over 4 weeks because Dr. Campbell is going to be out of town. Her office isn't doing my 20 week sonogram because I will be seeing Dr. Gore that week as well (he is out of town with Dr. Campbell) so why double dip..although I love any chance I can get to see my little one so wouldn't complain to any double dipping.



Here is a run down on how things have gone to date:


Weight Gain- Let's not talk about it. Doesn't help I was up 15 lbs over the weight when I got pregnant with Jack


Cravings- Sweets and Route 44 Sonic Water with lemon


Blood Pressure- CRAZY LOW 75/55 (varies up and down throughout the day). This led to terrible headaches, dizzy spells, exhaustion, and feeling sick to my stomach often.The heart surgeon has taken me off of the daily dose of Toprol to help get it up and will only resume should my blood pressure increase as the pregnancy progresses.


Gender Guesses- I have been obsessing (I know...me obsessing...not typical huh?!?). We have a prediction from 13 weeks from Dr. Gore but aren't sharing til we have 100% confirmation...which is where the obsessing comes in...wish I had not percentage then could be 50/50 clueless.

Gold Digger Party Weekend

So in a desperate attempt to make back lost money this year we hosted a Gold Party at our house in May. We offered small treats and non alcoholic drinks....after all we were trying to make money-not spend it all on hosting.

Somehow we managed to get the house together in our exhausted state we've been in since August. Julie the gold lady came and set up her light, scale, and money (most important part) and then the party began.
Each guest (and those that dropped off bags with me to get quotes, a text with the bid offered, and then money delivered by me) had a turn at the table while Debbie determined real vs. fake gold and silver. She did her calculations and you'd walk away with cash on hand and your stones if you had any. Mychel here left with $700! We made out pretty good (so did Bebe and Noel that had some items to sell). After the day we were feeling pretty good about getting Jack a swing set with the combined money from selling his Little Tikes and the gold money....but I'll jump ahead a little since I'm so behind...after Nick's wreck...no swing in sight for Mr. Jack. Sorry buddy, we tried!

Jack and Willow had fun as you can see while the adults were making money in the other room.

The next morning with money in our pockets we decided to get outdoors some before it gets too miserably hot to visit the Arboretum since we have our membership til October (unsure of renewing this year-we'll see how our lucky pans out between now and then). Picnic lunch soon after we got there.

"Ham" was on the menu as you can tell!

So was my Route 44 water with lemon from Sonic. Keep thinking it will help with my splotchy, puffy face...but nope!

Jack was the tour guide making sure to read the background information for the new Texas Town display.

"Who's there?"

"Dad, this is such a pain...why don't they just have sinks like us?"

"I'm thinking since I'm a big boy now that I might be needing a wagon upgrade."

My boys

My little boy (and my big a%& belly already...really?!?!)

You know you can still see it in his eyes and now his smile-TROUBLE but more than that

LOVE!

What a great day for the Relle Clan!